Siegfried (Part 1 of Die Nibelungen)

1924. Germany. Directed by Fritz Lang. Screenplay by Lang, Thea von Harbou, based on Das NibelungenliedThe Spiders and Dr. Mabuse) and critical acclaim (with Destiny) when, together with his then wife, von Harbou, he decided to tackle Wagner. The result is one of the most spectacular examples of UFA-style filmmaking, a product of the dominant German studio, with seemingly infinite resources to lavish on set design, costumes, and special effects. Whether the film does justice to the thirteenth-century legend and Wagner’s opera, or instead presaged Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (Von Harbou later became a Nazi), it is undeniably a work of
great beauty and ambition.
Silent; English intertitles. Approx. 86 min.

Swedish Cinema Classics

1959. Sweden. Compiled by Gardar Sahlberg. This compilation presents all-too-brief excerpts from the major works of Victor Sjöström and Mauritz Stiller between 1913 and 1924, when these two major directors departed for America. English narration. 36 min.

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